Berkeley, California (Thursday, May 06, 2010) - The Northern California Chapter of the American Planning Association, (APA California Northern) chose the City of Berkeley’s Climate Action Plan as the winner of the 2010 Outstanding Planning Innovation in Green Community Planning Award.

Adopted by City Council in June 2009, the Berkeley Climate Action Plan is Berkeley’s how-to guide to reducing community greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 80 percent by the year 2050. The plan identifies the main sources of local GHG emissions and recommends policies and timelines for slashing energy and waste city-wide. This award honors the Climate Action Plan for its breadth of pro-active policy recommendations and high level of community engagement from development of the plan through its ongoing implementation.

The annual Planning Awards recognize outstanding planning efforts, innovative projects and distinguished planners in a wide range of categories, from best practices and leadership to advocacy and education and are the APA California Northern highest honors. Berkeley will be honored on May 14th in San Francisco and is eligible to submit the Climate Action Plan for consideration to the State of California APA Planning Awards.